Readable indicia for fuel purchase

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention are directed to purchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuel station. An exemplary apparatus is configured to: initiate a fuel purchase application; determine identification information associated with a fuel pump that will be used for fueling the vehicle; and transmit a purchase authorization request to an external server based on the identification information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/665,060, filed Jun. 27, 2012, entitled “Mobile Device ForFuel Purchase,” the entirety which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

There is a need to enable a customer to purchase fuel at a fuel stationwithout swiping the customer's payment card at the fuel station.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods andcomputer program products for purchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuelstation. An apparatus comprises: a memory; a processor; and a computingmodule stored in the memory, executable by the processor, and configuredto: initiate a fuel purchase application; determine identificationinformation associated with a fuel pump that will be used for fuelingthe vehicle; and transmit a purchase authorization request to anexternal server based on the identification information.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a display, and themodule is further configured to determine identification informationbased on the module being configured to: initiate, on the display, auser interface associated with the fuel purchase application; and enableselection, on the user interface, of a fuel pump associated with thefuel station.

In some embodiments, the module is further configured to: determine alocation of the apparatus based on at least one of positioning systeminformation or location information associated with a social networkingaccount; and determine at least one of the identification informationassociated with the fuel pump or information associated with the fuelstation based on the location of the apparatus.

In some embodiments, the module is further configured to: initiate, onthe display, address information associated with the fuel station; andinitiate, on the display, identification information associated with oneor more fuel pumps associated with the fuel station.

In some embodiments, the module is further configured to enableselection, on the user interface, of a payment card to pay for the fuelpurchase, wherein the apparatus accesses information associated with oneor more payment cards.

In some embodiments, the vehicle is in communication with the apparatusand the vehicle communicates to the apparatus information regarding anamount of fuel needed to fill the vehicle's fuel tank to a predeterminedcapacity.

In some embodiments, the purchase authorization request is further basedon at least one of payment card information, social networkinginformation, or a selected type of fuel.

In some embodiments, the external server determines at least one of apre-selected payment card, a pre-selected payment amount, or a discounteligibility for the purchase authorization request, processes thepurchase authorization request based on one or more authorization rules,and transmits an electronic receipt to the apparatus.

In some embodiments, the external server sends an authorization promptto the fuel station, wherein in response to receiving the authorizationprompt, at least one of: an agent at the fuel station activates the fuelpump, or the fuel pump is automatically activated.

In some embodiments, the module is further configured to receivepre-configured information associated with an information-providingsource comprising readable indicia, wherein the apparatus comprises animage-capturing component, and wherein the apparatus enables capture ofan image of the readable indicia.

In some embodiments, the readable indicia is presented on a displayassociated with at least one of the fuel station, the fuel pump, or thevehicle.

In some embodiments, the readable indicia comprises a sticker attachedto the fuel pump or the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the readable indicia comprises a Quick Response(QR) code.

In some embodiments, the information-providing source comprises anear-field communication (NFC) tag.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured information comprisesinformation pre-approved by at least one of a merchant associated withthe fuel station or a user of the apparatus.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured information is pre-configured tobe associated with the apparatus and not to be associated with anotherapparatus.

In some embodiments, the module is further configured to receive anoffer for at least one of a purchase of fuel, a purchase from aconvenience store associated with the fuel station, or a purchaseassociated with the vehicle, wherein the offer is based on userinformation or account information associated with a user of theapparatus.

In some embodiments, the apparatus is integrated into the vehicle.

In some embodiments, a method is provided for purchasing fuel for avehicle from a fuel station. The method comprises: initiating a fuelpurchase application; determining identification information associatedwith a fuel pump that will be used for fueling the vehicle; andtransmitting a purchase authorization request to an external serverbased on the identification information.

In some embodiments, a computer program product is provided forpurchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuel station. The computer programproduct comprises a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising aset of codes for causing a device to: initiate a fuel purchaseapplication; determine identification information associated with a fuelpump that will be used for fueling the vehicle; and transmit a purchaseauthorization request to an external server based on the identificationinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a general process flow for purchasingfuel for a vehicle from a fuel station, in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating technical components of a systemfor purchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuel station, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is an exemplary user interface associated with a mobile device,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention now may be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure may satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

A person may need to purchase fuel for his or her vehicle. In order tofind a fuel station nearby, the person may use an application on amobile device (or on an in-vehicle display) to find a convenientlylocated fuel station (e.g., the nearest fuel station, the fuel stationoffering the cheapest fuel prices, or the like). Upon receiving theuser's selection of a fuel station, the application may providedirections to the fuel station. Upon entering the fuel station, theperson parks his or her vehicle near a fuel pump with the intention ofpurchasing fuel for the vehicle. Embodiments of the invention aredirected to systems, methods and computer program products forpurchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuel station. The process flowassociated with the transaction for purchasing fuel described herein isanalogous to a “card-present transaction,” which comprises a paymentcard being presented (e.g., swiped) at a payment terminal. In alternateembodiments, the process flow associated with the transaction may beanalogous to a “card-not-present transaction,” which comprises a paymentbeing made without a payment card being presented for payment (e.g., anonline electronic payment).

Referring now to FIG. 1, a general process flow 100 is provided forpurchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuel station. At block 110, themethod comprises receiving, at a portable mobile communicationapparatus, pre-configured information associated with aninformation-providing source in a vehicle. The portable mobilecommunication apparatus may also be referred to as a mobile device.

The pre-configured information comprises information pre-approved by amerchant associated with the fuel station and a user of the mobiledevice to enable the user to purchase fuel for a vehicle. Therefore, theuser and the merchant agree that the pre-configured information may beused to generate an authorization request to purchase fuel for a vehiclethat comprises the information-providing source. As used herein, thepre-configured information may refer to any identification informationthat identifies at least one of the fuel station, the fuel pump, themerchant associated with the fuel station, the user's vehicle, theuser's mobile device, the user (or other information associated with theuser), or the like.

The information-providing source may comprise readable indicia. Thereadable indicia may comprise visual indicia. For example, the readableindicia may comprise any kind of one-dimensional or two-dimensional code(e.g., barcode, Quick Response (QR) code). A user may use a mobiledevice that comprises an image-capturing component to capture an imageof the code. Alternatively or additionally, the readable indicia neednot comprise visual indicia. The readable indicia may comprise anyindicia, visual or non-visual, where information associated with theindicia is receivable or readable (e.g., scannable) by a mobile device.For example, the readable indicia is comprised in a tag (e.g., radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag, near field communication (NFC) tag,or the like). A user may bring a mobile device in close proximity to thetag in order to receive information (e.g., readable indicia orpre-configured information) associated with the tag.

The information-providing source may comprise a display. Therefore, thereadable indicia may be presented on a display in the vehicle. Thedisplay may be a display on the dashboard, the center console, or anyother part of the vehicle. The display may be a touchscreen display. Thevehicle may receive the readable indicia from an external server. Thevehicle may comprise a computing system that includes a memory, aprocessor, and a computing module that works in conjunction with thememory and the processor to initiate presentation of the readableindicia on the display. In some embodiments, the computing system in thevehicle may also include a positioning system (e.g., a globalpositioning system). The computing system may determine when the vehicleenters the fuel station and may automatically download from the externalserver (which may or may not be located at the fuel station) via one ormore short-range or long-range wireless mechanisms and initiatepresentation of readable indicia associated with the fuel station (e.g.,readable indicia for purchasing fuel) on the display. Alternatively, thecomputing system in the vehicle may download and initiate presentationof readable indicia upon receiving a selection (e.g., via an inputdevice such as the in-vehicle display) by a user. The readable indiciais dynamic such that the readable indicia for fuel purchase receivedduring one transmission from the external server (or generated in afirst instance as explained below) may be different from the readableindicia received during another transmission from the external server(or generated in a second instance). When the readable indicia ispresented on the display, the readable indicia may be single-usereadable indicia such that the readable indicia presented for a firstfuel purchase is different from the readable indicia presented for asecond fuel purchase. Therefore, when the readable indicia is presentedon the display, the readable indicia may not be used to make more thanone fuel purchase.

Alternatively, the readable indicia may be automatically generated bythe computing system located in the vehicle. Therefore, the readableindicia may be automatically and dynamically generated upon thecomputing system in the vehicle determining that the vehicle has enteredthe fuel station. Alternatively, the readable indicia for fuel purchasemay be generated upon the user selecting one or more options presentedon the display in the vehicle.

Alternatively, the readable indicia may comprise a sticker removablyattached to an internal part of the vehicle. Examples of internal partsof the vehicle include the center console, steering wheel, door panel,seat, dashboard, sun visor, or the like. The sticker may be attached toan internal part of the vehicle (e.g., inside the glove compartment orthe sun visor) such that the sticker is accessible and/or visible tothose inside the vehicle, and not accessible and/or visible to thoseoutside the vehicle.

Alternatively, the information-providing source comprises an active orpassive near-field communication (NFC) or radio frequency identification(RFID) tag. A user may bring a mobile device in close proximity to thetag in order to receive pre-configured information associated with thetag.

Alternatively, the information-providing source may be provided outsidethe vehicle at the fuel pump or elsewhere in the fuel station. Themobile device may receive information from the information-providingsource similar to previously described embodiments. In such embodiments,the user may receive the pre-configured information to the user's mobiledevice without alighting from the vehicle.

Alternatively, instead of the mobile device communicating with andreceiving pre-configured information from the information-providingsource, the vehicle (or a computing system associated with the vehicle)may be enabled to receive the pre-configured information from theinformation-providing source via one or more short-range wirelessmechanisms. Exemplary short-range wireless mechanisms include near-fieldcommunication (NFC), infra-red transmission (IR), Bluetooth, short-rangeradio frequency (RF) signals, IEEE 802.11x, WiFi, wireless universalserial bus (USB), IrDA-based (Infrared Data Association) transmission,image capture, or the like. As described herein, theinformation-providing source may be located either inside the vehicle oroutside the vehicle (e.g., at the fuel pump or anywhere else in the fuelstation).

In some embodiments, the method subsequently proceeds to block 120. Inalternate embodiments, the method starts at block 120. Therefore, inthese alternate embodiments, the mobile device does not receive readableindicia from an information-providing source. In such embodiments, themobile device may identify a fuel station where the mobile device islocated based on global positioning system (GPS) coordinate information,and may initiate an application to enable selection of a fuel pump, andcreation and transmission of a payment authorization request. In otherembodiments, upon entering the fuel station, the user may initiate atleast one application to enable selection of a fuel pump, and creationand transmission of a transmission of a payment authorization request.In some embodiments, the application prompts a user to enter a passcodeupon initiation. Upon successful verification of the passcode, theapplication enables the user to make a fuel purchase. The passcode maybe verified by at least one of the mobile device or the external serverin communication with the mobile device.

At block 120, the method comprises determining identificationinformation associated with a fuel pump at the fuel station that will beused for fueling the vehicle. The mobile device may initiate, on thedisplay of the mobile device, a payment application user interface inresponse to receiving the pre-configured information. Therefore, theuser does not need to exit his or her vehicle in order make the fuelpurchase. Additionally, the mobile device may enable selection, on theuser interface, of a fuel pump associated with the fuel station.Therefore, a user of the mobile device may select a fuel pump that willbe used for fueling the vehicle. In some embodiments, the mobile devicemay be in wireless or wired communication with the computing system inthe vehicle. Therefore, the mobile device user interface may bedisplayed on the display in the vehicle.

Additionally, the mobile device may comprise a global positioning systemor some other location determining system. The mobile device may use thelocation determining system to determine a location of the mobiledevice, and determine identification information (e.g., addressinformation) for a fuel station proximate to where the mobile device islocated. Additionally, the mobile device may use the locationdetermining system to determine identification information (e.g., pumpnumber) associated with a fuel pump (e.g., the fuel pump located closestto the mobile device) that will be used to fuel the vehicle. Inembodiments where the mobile device determines identificationinformation associated with a fuel pump, the user does not need toselect a fuel pump.

Once the mobile device determines identification information associatedwith the fuel station where the mobile device is located, the mobiledevice initiates, on the display of the mobile device, a user interface.Referring now to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 displays this user interface 302. Themobile device initiates, on the display, address information 304associated with the fuel station, and identification information (e.g.,pump number) associated with one or more fuel pumps 308 associated withthe fuel station. As described previously, a user of the mobile devicemay select a fuel pump 310 that will be activated 306 for fueling thevehicle. Additionally, either prior to or after determination of thefuel pump identification number, the mobile device may prompt the userto select the type of fuel desired by the user (e.g., regular, supreme,diesel or the like).

Additionally, the mobile device comprises a mobile wallet that includesinformation associated with one or more payment cards (credit cards,debit cards, or the like). As used herein, a payment card may alsorepresent a payment account (e.g., a financial institution account). Themobile device enables selection, on the user interface, of a paymentcard to pay for the fuel purchase. Additionally, the mobile deviceenables selection, on the user interface, of a payment amount for thefuel purchase. The user interface for selecting a payment card and thepayment amount may be presented in response to the user selecting a pumpnumber for fueling the vehicle. If the user does not select a paymentcard and/or a payment amount, the mobile device automatically selects adefault payment card and a default payment amount previously selected bythe user. Alternatively, as explained below, if the user does not selecta payment card and/or a payment amount, the external serverautomatically selects a default payment card and a payment amountassociated with the pre-configured information transmitted to theexternal sever, wherein the default payment card and payment amount(e.g., a maximum payment amount) were previously selected by the user tobe associated with the pre-configured information. In embodiments wherethe mobile device is in communication with the computing system of thevehicle, the mobile wallet information may be displayed on the displayin the vehicle.

Additionally or alternatively, when the user drives in to or enters thefuel station, the user may “check in” at the fuel station using a socialnetworking application (e.g., the user's social networking account).Checking in at the fuel station enables the mobile device and anexternal server to determine the location of the mobile device. When theuser checks in at the fuel station, the mobile device may automaticallyinitiate the payment application user interface. Additionally, when theuser checks in at the fuel station using the user's social networkingaccount, the user may receive a discount on a fuel purchase for“checking in” via the user's social networking account.

At block 130, the method comprises transmitting, by the mobile device, apurchase authorization request to an external server based on thepre-configured information received by the mobile device. Additionally,the purchase authorization request may be based on the identificationinformation associated with at least one of the fuel station where themobile device is located or the fuel pump that will be used to fuel thevehicle. Additionally, the purchase authorization request may be basedon a type of fuel selected by the user. Additionally, the purchaseauthorization request may be based on information associated with apayment card and/or a payment amount selected by a user of the mobiledevice. When the authorization request is not based on informationassociated with a payment card and/or a payment amount, the externalserver determines a payment card and/or a payment amount associated withthe pre-configured information. This payment card and/or payment amountmay have been previously selected by the user to pay for a fuel purchasefrom the fuel station. Alternatively, when the authorization request isnot based on information associated with a payment card, the externalserver may determine a prepaid payment account associated with thepre-configured information, wherein the prepaid account may beestablished by the user for fuel purchase from the fuel station. If theexternal server determines that the balance in the prepaid paymentaccount is below a certain threshold (e.g., zero), the external servertransmits a rejection message to the mobile device.

In some embodiments, the external server receives the purchaseauthorization request and determines a payment method selected by theuser (e.g., credit card, debit card, prepaid account, or the like). Theexternal server then determines whether the user is eligible for adiscount or rebate on the fuel purchase if the user uses an alternatepayment method (e.g., debit card, prepaid account, or the like) ratherthan the selected payment method (e.g., credit card). In suchembodiments, the external server communicates a message to the user'smobile device informing the user that the user is entitled to a discountor rebate on the fuel purchase if the user selects the alternate paymentmethod. Therefore, the user may select an alternate payment method (andenter details associated with the alternate payment method if the userhas not previously provided details associated with the alternatepayment method), and the mobile device transmits the user's selection tothe external server. Alternatively, the user may select an option to paywith the originally selected payment method.

As explained herein, the user's vehicle may be in communication with theuser's mobile device. In some embodiments, the vehicle determines howmuch fuel it needs to fill up the vehicle's fuel tank to a predeterminedcapacity (e.g., 100% capacity). Therefore, the vehicle may communicatethis information to the mobile device. In some embodiments, the vehiclemay additionally or alternatively communicate this information to theexternal server, which may use the information for transmitting an offerto the user. Prior to transmitting the payment authorization request tothe external server, the mobile device may initiate presentation ofseveral options to the user. The mobile device may present a firstoption to fill up the fuel tank to 100% capacity and the accompanyingcost of the fuel purchase based on a previously selected type of fuelpurchase (e.g., regular, supreme, diesel or the like). The mobile device(or the external server) determines the cost of the fuel purchase basedon determining the fuel station associated with the mobile device'slocation, and the prices of various fuel types associated with the fuelstation. Based on the information received form the vehicle, the mobiledevice may determine how much fuel is needed to fill up the tank to 70%capacity, 50% capacity, or any other percentage capacity. Additionally,the mobile device may present a second option to fill up the fuel tankto 70% capacity (or some other predetermined percentage) and theaccompanying cost of the fuel purchase based on a user-selected type offuel purchase (e.g., regular, supreme, diesel, or the like).

The external server may be located at the fuel station and may beassociated with the fuel pump described herein. When the external serveris located at the fuel station, the mobile device may send the purchaseauthorization request via one or more short range wireless mechanisms(or via the mobile telecommunication network) described herein to theexternal server. Alternatively, the external server may be locatedremotely from the fuel station. When the external server is locatedremotely from the fuel station, the mobile device may send the purchaseauthorization request via the mobile telecommunication network or someother long range data network. In some embodiments, each fuel pump maybe associated with a separate computing system that can activate anddeactivate the fuel pump. Therefore, each fuel pump's computing systemmay have a different network address. As used herein, a network addressmay be an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

Additionally, the user may use a social networking gift (e.g., socialnetworking points or credits) to pay for the fuel purchase. Therefore,the authorization request may be additionally based on informationassociated with the user's social networking account and informationassociated with social networking gifts or credits received by (orpurchased by) the user's social networking account.

The external server processes the authorization request based on one ormore authorization rules. Upon verifying the payment information for thefuel purchase, the external server sends an authorization prompt to acomputing system (e.g., associated with a unique network address) at thefuel station, wherein in response to receiving the authorization prompt,an agent at the fuel station activates the fuel pump in closestproximity to the vehicle. The authorization prompt may be accompanied bya sound beep, an activated light, or the like. Alternatively, in anautomatic embodiment, the external server sends an authorization messageto a computing system (associated with a unique network address)associated with the fuel pump, wherein the fuel pump is automaticallyactivated by the computing system upon receiving the authorizationmessage. After the car has been fueled using fuel at the fuel pump, theexternal server may transmit an electronic receipt to the mobile device.Alternatively or additionally, a receipt associated with the purchasemay be printed at the fuel station (e.g., at the fuel pump) if the userpreviously selected an option using the application described herein toreceive a paper receipt.

The external server may process the authorization request based on arelationship that the user has with the merchant associated with thefuel station and/or the financial institution associated with thepayment card or account being used for the fuel purchase. Therelationship information for the user may be accessed by the externalserver based on the pre-configured information or other identificationinformation. The relationship information may be used to determine aprice to charge the user for a fuel unit. For example, the user may begiven a discount or rebate if the user satisfies one or more conditionsassociated with the discount or rebate (e.g., length of relationshipwith merchant and/or financial institution, number of previous fuelpurchases from merchant, amount associated with previous fuelpurchases). Therefore, a first user at the fuel pump may pay a differentprice per unit of fuel compared to a second user. Additionally, if theuser's authorization request is associated with a prepaid paymentaccount, the user may receive a predetermined discount on the fuelpurchase.

The user may pre-register the user's mobile device to be associated withthe pre-configured information. Therefore, if any non-registered mobiledevices receive the pre-configured information and transmit a purchaseauthorization request to the external server, the external serverrejects the request. This rejection may be communicated to at least oneof the mobile device or the computing system associated with the fuelstation or the fuel pump. In other embodiments, the pre-configuredinformation that is received by an unregistered mobile device mayprevent the unregistered mobile device from transmitting anauthorization request to the external server based on the pre-configuredinformation.

In some embodiments, the mobile device may also include a vehicle or thevehicle may also include the mobile device. Therefore, in someembodiments, the mobile device functionality may be integrated into avehicle. Thus, the display of the mobile device may refer to the displayof the vehicle. Thus, any function that is described as being performedby the mobile device may be performed by a computing system associatedwith or located in the vehicle. Any information that is described asbeing presented on a display of a mobile device may be displayed on thedisplay in a vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle may receive pre-configuredinformation from an information-providing source located in the vehicle,at the fuel pump, or anywhere else in the fuel station. The vehicle maycommunicate, either directly or over a network, with the fuel pump, fuelstation, external server, the user's mobile device, or the like. Thecomputing system associated with the vehicle may have its own networkaddress (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) address).

In some embodiments, when the user “checks in” at the fuel station usingthe user's social networking account, or when the mobile devicedetermines that the user's mobile device is located at the fuel station,or when the mobile device receives the pre-configured information fromthe information-providing source, or when the mobile device transmitsthe purchase authorization request to the external server, the mobiledevice or an external server in communication with the mobile device maydetermine that user is going to purchase fuel for the user's vehicle.

At block 140, the method comprises transmitting an offer to the user(e.g., the user's mobile device, the user's vehicle, or the like). Theoffer may be transmitted at any time (or at multiple times) either priorto, during, or after process flow 100. For example, the offer may betransmitted a predetermined period before the user enters the fuelstation (e.g., when the user initiates an application to find a fuelstation), while entering the fuel station, upon parking the user'svehicle at the fuel station (e.g., near a fuel pump), upon receiving thepre-configured information, upon transmitting a purchase authorizationrequest, upon activation of the fuel pump, while fueling the vehicle,upon completion of fueling, while exiting the fuel station, apredetermined period after exiting the fuel station, or upon a level oramount of fuel in the vehicle's fuel tank being equal to or less than apredetermined level or amount. The offer transmission time is notlimited to the examples described herein.

Therefore, in some embodiments, the external server may transmit one ormore offers to the user's mobile device. These offers are presented onthe user interface of the mobile device. Additionally, an option may bepresented to activate an offer. If the user chooses to activate anoffer, the offer is applied to a subsequent purchase made by the userthat qualifies for the offer. The offer may be related to the fuelpurchase (e.g., a predetermined discount or rebate if the user purchasesa predetermined minimum number of fuel units or if the user purchasesfuel for a predetermined minimum dollar amount). Alternatively, theoffer may be related to products sold at a convenience store at the fuelstation. Alternatively, the offer may be related to the user's vehicle(e.g., vehicle maintenance services, car wash at the fuel station, orthe like). Alternatively, the offer may be related to products sold atstores associated with the merchant associated with the fuel station.Still alternatively, the offer may be related to any product or servicebased on at least one of account information or user informationassociated with the user of the mobile device.

The offer (e.g., for a fuel purchase) may be presented to the user onthe mobile device upon determining the mobile device is located at thefuel station (e.g., when the user's vehicle enters the fuel station orwhen the user parks his or her car at the fuel station). Therefore, theoffer may be activated by the user and if the offer is valid for a fuelpurchase, the offer may be used for the fuel purchase for the user'svehicle. Additionally or alternatively, the offer (e.g., for a car wash)may be presented to the user on the mobile device upon transmitting thepurchase authorization request to the external server or upon completionof fueling of the user's vehicle. Therefore, the offer may be activatedby the user and used for a subsequent purchase associated with a productor service specified by the offer.

As an example, the offer may be a rebate of $5 on a purchase of $20 offuel and is transmitted to the user's mobile device upon determining theuser's mobile device is located at the fuel station. The user mayactivate the offer. By activating the offer, the offer will be appliedto the next purchase of fuel for $20. The offer is transmitted alongwith the purchase authorization request described herein. When thetransaction (and/or the offer) is processed by the financial institutionat a predetermined settlement time in the future (e.g., as part of aperiodic batch processing operation to generate monthly accountstatements), the financial institution provides a rebate of $5 to theuser's financial institution account after checking whether fuel waspurchased for at least $20. If the user makes multiple purchases of fuelfor $20 during a predetermined period (e.g., a day), the offer isapplied to the largest purchase of fuel during the predetermined periodor is applied to an aggregate of the fuel purchases (wherein each fuelpurchase is worth $20) during the predetermined period. Therefore, ifthe offer is an offer for a percentage discount, the rebate amountapplied to the user's account increases if the purchase amountincreases.

As a further example, the activated offer may be a rebate of $5 on a $20car wash and is transmitted to the user upon transmitting the purchaseauthorization request to the external server or upon completion offueling of the user's vehicle. The user may activate the offer. Byactivating the offer, the offer will be applied to the next purchase ofa car wash of $20. When the transaction is processed by the financialinstitution at a predetermined settlement time in the future (e.g., aspart of a periodic batch processing operation to generate monthlyaccount statements), the financial institution provides a rebate of $5to the user's financial institution account after checking whether a carwash was purchased for at least $20. If the user makes multiplepurchases of car washes for $20 during a predetermined period (e.g., aday), the offer is applied to the largest purchase of a car wash duringthe predetermined period or is applied to an aggregate of the car washpurchases (wherein each car wash purchase is worth $20) during thepredetermined period. Therefore, if the offer is an offer for apercentage discount, the rebate amount applied to the user's accountincreases if the purchase amount increases.

In other embodiments, the offer is transmitted, via pop-up message(e.g., text message), to the user's mobile device. In some embodiments,the offer is transmitted to the user's email account. In someembodiments, the offer is presented via at least one of a user interfaceassociated with the user's financial institution account (e.g., onlinebanking account, mobile banking account on a portable mobilecommunication device, or the like), a user interface associated with theuser's social network account, or a user interface associated with theuser's in-vehicle display. In some embodiments, the offer is insertedinto or presented alongside (e.g., on the right, left, top, bottom sideof a transaction, or between multiple transactions) the transactionhistory that is presented on the user's online banking account or mobilebanking account. Therefore, for example, if ten transactions are listedin the transaction history, the offer may be presented between thefourth and fifth transactions. In some embodiments, the offer may berelated to the transaction which the offer is presented alongside (e.g.,the fourth and/or fifth transaction in the above example). For example,if the fourth transaction is a purchase of item ‘A’ from merchant ‘A,’the offer is for a purchase of item ‘A’ (e.g., from any merchant) or fora purchase from merchant ‘A’ (e.g., for any item) or for a purchase ofitem ‘A’ from merchant ‘A.’ Alternatively, the offer may be for apurchase of a substitute of item ‘A’ (e.g., from merchant ‘A’ or fromany other merchant).

In some embodiments, the offer is transmitted to the user's vehicle andnot the user's mobile device. Therefore, the user views the offer on thedisplay associated with the user's vehicle. In some embodiments, theoffer is transmitted to the user's vehicle (or the user's mobile device)as the vehicle is at least one of entering or exiting the fuel station,or a predetermined period before entering the fuel station, or apredetermined period after exiting the fuel station. In someembodiments, the offer is transmitted to the user's vehicle (or theuser's mobile device) when the fuel level in the user's vehicle fallsbelow a predetermined threshold (e.g., 15% of the fuel tank capacity).

In some embodiments, the offer is transmitted to or presented to theuser based on at least one of user information or account informationassociated with the user. The account information comprises atransaction history associated with the user's financial institutionaccount. The transaction history may comprise at least one of a type ofa transaction, a frequency associated with the transaction, an amountassociated with the transaction, or a merchant associated with thetransaction. Additionally or alternatively, the account informationcomprises an account balance history. Additionally or alternatively, theaccount information may or may not comprise information associated withincorrect, inconsistent, incomplete, or corrupted transactions. As usedherein, a transaction may comprise a purchase, a deposit, a withdrawal,a credit, a debit, or the like. In some embodiments, accountinformation, as used herein, refers to information associated with theuser's financial institution account(s) managed by a single financialinstitution. In other embodiments, account information may refer toinformation associated with the user's financial institution accountsmanaged by multiple distinct financial institutions.

In some embodiments, the presented offer is an offer to receive at leastone of a discount or a rebate on at least one of a purchase previouslymade by the user (e.g., a previous transaction associated with theuser's financial institution account), a purchase from a merchant fromwhich the user previously made a purchase, an alternative to thepurchase previously made by the user, or an alternative to the purchasefrom the merchant from which the user previously made a purchase. Thealternative to the purchase may be determined based on transactionhistories associated with a plurality of financial institution accountsassociated with multiple users. In some embodiments, the presented offeris an offer to receive at least one of a discount or a rebate on aproduct or service related to a previous purchase made by the user. Forexample, if the user previously bought a stove, the offer is a discountor rebate for a dishwasher or a stove maintenance service.

The user information comprises personal information associated with atleast one of the user, a family member of the user, or a friend of theuser, wherein the personal information comprises at least one ofdemographic information, salary information, contact information,residence address information (may also be referred to as mailingaddress information), job profile information, education information, orsocial network information. The offer is transmitted to or presented tothe user based on substantially matching the user information or accountinformation to offer information associated with the offer. For example,the offer is based on the residence address of the user or based on thetransaction history of the user's financial institution account.

As explained herein, the system (e.g., the external server) may beconfigured to determine the offer (e.g., merchant associated with offer,expiry date of offer, product or service associated with offer, usersassociated with an account who can execute transactions associated withoffer, minimum purchase amount associated with the offer, or the like)based on a purchase transaction that has already occurred (e.g., fromthe transaction history). In other embodiments, the system may beconfigured to determine the offer based on purchase transactions thathave not yet occurred. Therefore, the system receives information (e.g.,from a social network) regarding a purchase transaction to be executedby the user within a predetermined period of time in the future. Inother embodiments, the user may pre-declare the user's intent to executea particular purchase transaction in the future. The user may declarethis intention on a social network. Additionally or alternatively, theuser may provide this intent directly to merchants that the user isinterested in received offers from. Additionally or alternatively, theuser may provide this intent directly to the financial institutionsystem described herein. For example, the user may communicate to thefinancial institution that the user is interested in receiving offersassociated with particular offer categories (e.g., water sports,seafood, or the like) associated with a particular locality (e.g., nearthe user's rental property on a beach), associated with particularproducts or services, associated with a particular time frame, or thelike. In other embodiments, the system determines or predicts a purchasetransaction to be executed by the user within a predetermined period oftime in the future. This prediction may be based on the accountinformation (e.g., transaction history) and/or user information (e.g.,change in residence address, social networking information, or the like)described herein. For example, the system may determine, based on thechange in the user's residence address, that the user will make apurchase transaction associated with moving services, buying newfurniture, or the like. As a further example, the system may determine,based on transaction history associated with recent transactions, thatthe user is getting ready to remodel the user's kitchen. Therefore, theoffer may be related to the remodeling of the user's kitchen. Forexample, the offer may be an offer to buy paint or an offer to buycabinet knobs.

In some embodiments, the system receives information associated with anevent in the user's life (e.g., the user is expecting the birth of a newkid within the next month). The system may predict the occurrence ofthis event based on at least one of the account information or the userinformation described herein. Alternatively or additionally, the usermay self-declare the occurrence of this event to the merchant and/or tothe financial institution. Therefore, the offer may be based on thisevent in the user's life.

The offer is transmitted to or presented to the user based at leastpartially on the user not being excluded by at least one user exclusionrule associated with the offer and the merchant not being excluded by atleast one merchant exclusion rule associated with the offer. A userexclusion rule comprises at least one of an affinity exclusion rule, arisk exclusion rule, or an account exclusion rule, and a merchantexclusion rule comprises a merchant category code exclusion rule.

As used herein, a user exclusion rule is a rule that excludes some usersfrom receiving offers. In some embodiments, a user exclusion rulecomprises an affinity exclusion rule. Therefore, if the financialinstitution (or a merchant partner associated with the financialinstitution) already has an existing relationship (e.g., for providingor sending offers associated with the particular merchant) with someusers via an affinity program, those users are excluded from receivingan offer. The affinity exclusion rule comprises at least one of a fullaffinity exclusion rule or a partial affinity exclusion rule. When theaffinity rule comprises a full affinity exclusion rule, the user iscompletely excluded from receiving an offer (e.g., an offer associatedwith a particular merchant) if the financial institution (or a merchantpartner associated with the financial institution) already has anexisting relationship with the user. When the affinity rule comprises apartial affinity exclusion rule, the user is excluded from receiving anoffer associated with a particular product, service, or industryassociated with a particular merchant that already has an existingrelationship with the user for the particular product, service, orindustry, but the user may receive offers associated with otherproducts, services, or industries associated with the particularmerchant. Additionally or alternatively, the user is excluded fromreceiving an offer associated with a competitor of a particular merchantif that particular merchant already has an existing relationship withthe user.

In some embodiments, the at least one user exclusion rule comprises arisk exclusion rule. Therefore, if a user is determined to be a riskyuser (e.g., has a credit score lower than a predetermined threshold),the user is excluded from receiving an offer. In some embodiments, theat least one user exclusion rule comprises an account exclusion rule.Therefore, for example, if a user's account has a balance (or anotheraccount characteristic) that is lower than predetermined threshold, theuser is excluded from receiving an offer.

In some embodiments, a merchant exclusion rule is a rule that excludessome merchants from providing offers to users associated with thefinancial institution. In some embodiments, the at least one merchantexclusion rule comprises a merchant category code exclusion rule.Therefore, a merchant associated with a predetermined merchant categorycode (e.g., a healthcare code) is excluded from providing an offer.However, the financial institution may set up a list of merchants thattrigger exceptions. Merchants that trigger exceptions can provide offerseven if these merchants are associated with the excluded merchantcategory codes.

At settlement time, the offer is processed as part of a batch processingoperation, wherein the batch processing operation comprises processing aplurality of financial institution accounts. At settlement time, theoffer is applied to: at least one purchase associated with apredetermined period, at least one purchase associated with apredetermined amount, an aggregate of a plurality of purchases, or alargest purchase. Therefore, upon completion of the batch processingoperation, the rebate or discount associated with the offer is appliedto the user's financial institution account. As used herein, settlementtime may also be referred to as processing time.

In some embodiments, when a purchase transaction is processed by thefinancial institution at a predetermined time in the future (i.e., atsettlement time or processing time), the system determines whether theoffer is still active and whether the offer is still valid with respectto both the user and the merchant. This post-transaction process may bereferred to as an offer reconciliation process. The offer is stillactive if the offer has not been revoked by at least one of thefinancial institution or the merchant and/or if the offer has notexpired.

The offer is valid with respect to the merchant if the merchant is notexcluded under any merchant exclusion rules at settlement. The offer isvalid for the user if the user is not excluded under any user exclusionrules at settlement. Additionally, the offer is still valid for the userif, at settlement, offer information associated with the offersubstantially matches at least one of user information or accountinformation associated with the user. If the user has changed residenceor if the user has changed transaction habits (thereby changing theuser's transaction history), user information or account informationassociated with the user may not substantially match offer informationassociated with the offer. Therefore, if the offer is not valid for theuser at settlement, a substitute offer may be applied at settlement.Offer information associated with the substitute offer may substantiallymatch at least one of user information or account information associatedwith the user at settlement. Additionally, the substitute offer is notexcluded under any merchant exclusion rules or user exclusion rules.

In some embodiments, multiple offers are presented to the user. Theoffers additionally specify that if the user executes transactionsassociated with a predetermined number of the multiple offers (e.g., 5out of 10 offers) in a predetermined period (e.g., five days), theuser's financial institution account will receive an additional discountor rebate on the last transaction in a sequence of transactions or onthe aggregate of transactions executed by the user.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the offer may specify that the userwill receive a discount or rebate on a transaction if the useradditionally executes an activity independent of the transaction (e.g.,posting a message on a social network). At settlement, the systemdetermines whether the user executed the activity specified by theoffer. If the user successfully executed the transaction and theactivity, the user's financial institution account is credited with arebate or discount associated with the offer. Additionally, in someembodiments, the discount or rebate associated with the user'stransaction is increased based on whether the user transmitted the offerto other users, and/or whether the other users executed transactionsassociated with the transmitted offer prior to settlement of the user'stransaction and/or offer.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 presents an exemplary block diagram ofthe system environment 200 for implementing the process flow 100described in FIG. 1, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. As illustrated, the system environment 200 includes a network210, a system 230, and a user input system 240. Also shown in FIG. 2 isa user 245 of the user input system 240. The user input system 240 maybe a mobile device described herein. The user 245 may be a person whouses the user input system 240 to execute a user application 247. Thesystem 230 may be the external server described herein. The userapplication 247 and/or the system application 237 may incorporate one ormore parts of the process flow 100 or any other function or processdescribed herein. Any function described as being performed by the userinput system 240 may be performed by the system 230, and any function orprocess described as being performed by the system 230 may be performedby the user input system 240.

As shown in FIG. 2, the system 230, and the user input system 240 areeach operatively and selectively connected to the network 210, which mayinclude one or more separate networks. In addition, the network 210 mayinclude a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and/or aglobal area network (GAN), such as the Internet. The network may alsoinclude a mobile telecommunication network. It will also be understoodthat the network 210 may be secure and/or unsecure and may also includewireless and/or wireline and/or optical interconnection technology.

The user input system 240 may include any computerized apparatus thatcan be configured to perform any one or more of the functions of theuser input system 240 described and/or contemplated herein. For example,the user 245 may use the user input system 240 to transmit and/orreceive information or commands to and from the system 230. In someembodiments, for example, the user input system 240 may include apersonal computer system, a mobile computing device, a personal digitalassistant, a mobile phone, a network device, an in-vehicle touchscreensystem, and/or the like. As illustrated in FIG. 2, in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention, the user input system 240includes a communication interface 242, a processor 244, a memory 246having an user application 247 stored therein, and a user interface 249.In such embodiments, the communication interface 242 is operatively andselectively connected to the processor 244, which is operatively andselectively connected to the user interface 249 and the memory 246. Insome embodiments, the user 245 may use the user application 247 toexecute processes described with respect to the process flows describedherein.

Each communication interface described herein, including thecommunication interface 242, generally includes hardware, and, in someinstances, software, that enables the user input system 240, totransport, send, receive, and/or otherwise communicate information toand/or from the communication interface of one or more other systems onthe network 210. For example, the communication interface 242 of theuser input system 240 may include a wireless transceiver, modem, server,electrical connection, and/or other electronic device that operativelyconnects the user input system 240 to another system such as the system230. The wireless transceiver may include a radio circuit to enablewireless transmission and reception of information.

Each processor described herein, including the processor 244, generallyincludes circuitry for implementing the audio, visual, and/or logicfunctions of the user input system 240. For example, the processor mayinclude a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, andvarious analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, andother support circuits. Control and signal processing functions of thesystem in which the processor resides may be allocated between thesedevices according to their respective capabilities. The processor mayalso include functionality to operate one or more software programsbased at least partially on computer-executable program code portionsthereof, which may be stored, for example, in a memory device, such asin the user application 247 of the memory 246 of the user input system240.

Each memory device described herein, including the memory 246 forstoring the user application 247 and other information, may include anycomputer-readable medium. For example, memory may include volatilememory, such as volatile random access memory (RAM) having a cache areafor the temporary storage of information. Memory may also includenon-volatile memory, which may be embedded and/or may be removable. Thenon-volatile memory may additionally or alternatively include an EEPROM,flash memory, and/or the like. The memory may store any one or more ofpieces of information and data used by the system in which it resides toimplement the functions of that system.

As shown in FIG. 2, the memory 246 includes the user application 247. Insome embodiments, the user application 247 includes an interface forcommunicating with, navigating, controlling, configuring, and/or usingthe user input system 240. In some embodiments, the user application 247includes computer-executable program code portions for instructing theprocessor 244 to perform one or more of the functions of the userapplication 247 described and/or contemplated herein. In someembodiments, the user application 247 may include and/or use one or morenetwork and/or system communication protocols.

Also shown in FIG. 2 is the user interface 249. In some embodiments, theuser interface 249 includes one or more output devices, such as adisplay and/or speaker, for presenting information to the user 245. Insome embodiments, the user interface 249 includes one or more inputdevices, such as one or more buttons, keys, dials, levers, directionalpads, joysticks, accelerometers, controllers, microphones, touchpads,touchscreens, haptic interfaces, microphones, scanners, motiondetectors, cameras, and/or the like for receiving information from theuser 245. In some embodiments, the user interface 249 includes the inputand display devices of a mobile device, which are operable to receiveand display information.

FIG. 2 also illustrates a system 230, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. The system 230 may include any computerizedapparatus that can be configured to perform any one or more of thefunctions of the system 230 described and/or contemplated herein. Inaccordance with some embodiments, for example, the system 230 mayinclude a computer network, an engine, a platform, a server, a databasesystem, a front end system, a back end system, a personal computersystem, and/or the like. Therefore, the system 230 may be an externalserver as described herein. In some embodiments, such as the oneillustrated in FIG. 2, the system 230 includes a communication interface232, a processor 234, and a memory 236, which includes a systemapplication 237 and a datastore 238 stored therein. As shown, thecommunication interface 232 is operatively and selectively connected tothe processor 234, which is operatively and selectively connected to thememory 236.

It will be understood that the system application 237 may be configuredto implement any one or more portions of the various user interfacesand/or process flow described herein. The system application 237 mayinteract with the user application 247. It will also be understood that,in some embodiments, the memory includes other applications. It willalso be understood that, in some embodiments, the system application 237is configured to communicate with the datastore 238, the user inputsystem 240, or the like.

It will be further understood that, in some embodiments, the systemapplication 237 includes computer-executable program code portions forinstructing the processor 234 to perform any one or more of thefunctions of the system application 237 described and/or contemplatedherein. In some embodiments, the system application 237 may includeand/or use one or more network and/or system communication protocols.

In addition to the system application 237, the memory 236 also includesthe datastore 238. As used herein, the datastore 238 may be one or moredistinct and/or remote datastores. In some embodiments, the datastore238 is not located within the system and is instead located remotelyfrom the system. In some embodiments, the datastore 238 storesinformation or data described herein.

It will be understood that the datastore 238 may include any one or morestorage devices, including, but not limited to, datastores, databases,and/or any of the other storage devices typically associated with acomputer system. It will also be understood that the datastore 238 maystore information in any known way, such as, for example, by using oneor more computer codes and/or languages, alphanumeric character strings,data sets, figures, tables, charts, links, documents, and/or the like.Further, in some embodiments, the datastore 238 may include informationassociated with one or more applications, such as, for example, thesystem application 237. It will also be understood that, in someembodiments, the datastore 238 provides a substantially real-timerepresentation of the information stored therein, so that, for example,when the processor 234 accesses the datastore 238, the informationstored therein is current or substantially current.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the system environmentillustrated in FIG. 2 is exemplary and that other embodiments may vary.As another example, in some embodiments, the system 230 includes more,less, or different components. As another example, in some embodiments,some or all of the portions of the system environment 200 may becombined into a single portion. Likewise, in some embodiments, some orall of the portions of the system 230 may be separated into two or moredistinct portions.

In addition, the various portions of the system environment 200 may bemaintained for and/or by the same or separate parties. It will also beunderstood that the system 230 may include and/or implement anyembodiment of the present invention described and/or contemplatedherein. For example, in some embodiments, the system 230 is configuredto implement any one or more of the embodiments of the process flow 100described and/or contemplated herein in connection with FIG. 1 or anyother process flow described herein. Additionally, the system 230 isconfigured to initiate presentation of any of the user interfacesdescribed herein.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the term “module” withrespect to a system may refer to a hardware component of the system, asoftware component of the system, or a component of the system thatincludes both hardware and software. As used herein, a module mayinclude one or more modules, where each module may reside in separatepieces of hardware or software. As used herein, the phrase “based on”may be used interchangeably with the term “comprising.” As used herein,the term “upon” may mean at least one of “before,” “during,” or “after.”

Although many embodiments of the present invention have just beendescribed above, the present invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Also, it will beunderstood that, where possible, any of the advantages, features,functions, devices, and/or operational aspects of any of the embodimentsof the present invention described and/or contemplated herein may beincluded in any of the other embodiments of the present inventiondescribed and/or contemplated herein, and/or vice versa. In addition,where possible, any terms expressed in the singular form herein aremeant to also include the plural form and/or vice versa, unlessexplicitly stated otherwise. Accordingly, the terms “a” and/or “an”shall mean “one or more,” even though the phrase “one or more” is alsoused herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art in view ofthis disclosure, the present invention may include and/or be embodied asan apparatus (including, for example, a system, machine, device,computer program product, and/or the like), as a method (including, forexample, a business method, computer-implemented process, and/or thelike), or as any combination of the foregoing. Accordingly, embodimentsof the present invention may take the form of an entirely businessmethod embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, stored procedures in a database, or thelike), an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combiningbusiness method, software, and hardware aspects that may generally bereferred to herein as a “system.” Furthermore, embodiments of thepresent invention may take the form of a computer program product thatincludes a computer-readable storage medium having one or morecomputer-executable program code portions stored therein. As usedherein, a processor, which may include one or more processors, may be“configured to” perform a certain function in a variety of ways,including, for example, by having one or more general-purpose circuitsperform the function by executing one or more computer-executableprogram code portions embodied in a computer-readable medium, and/or byhaving one or more application-specific circuits perform the function.

It will be understood that any suitable computer-readable medium may beutilized. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limitedto, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a tangibleelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, and/orsemiconductor system, device, and/or other apparatus. For example, insome embodiments, the non-transitory computer-readable medium includes atangible medium such as a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), and/or some other tangible optical and/ormagnetic storage device. In other embodiments of the present invention,however, the computer-readable medium may be transitory, such as, forexample, a propagation signal including computer-executable program codeportions embodied therein.

One or more computer-executable program code portions for carrying outoperations of the present invention may include object-oriented,scripted, and/or unscripted programming languages, such as, for example,Java, Perl, Smalltalk, C++, SAS, SQL, Python, Objective C, JavaScript,and/or the like. In some embodiments, the one or morecomputer-executable program code portions for carrying out operations ofembodiments of the present invention are written in conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languagesand/or similar programming languages. The computer program code mayalternatively or additionally be written in one or more multi-paradigmprogramming languages, such as, for example, F#.

Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein withreference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of apparatusand/or methods. It will be understood that each block included in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and/or combinations ofblocks included in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams,may be implemented by one or more computer-executable program codeportions. These one or more computer-executable program code portionsmay be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, and/or some other programmable data processingapparatus in order to produce a particular machine, such that the one ormore computer-executable program code portions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the steps and/or functionsrepresented by the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s).

The one or more computer-executable program code portions may be storedin a transitory and/or non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., amemory or the like) that can direct, instruct, and/or cause a computerand/or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in aparticular manner, such that the computer-executable program codeportions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article ofmanufacture including instruction mechanisms which implement the stepsand/or functions specified in the flowchart(s) and/or block diagramblock(s).

The one or more computer-executable program code portions may also beloaded onto a computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer and/or other programmable apparatus. In some embodiments, thisproduces a computer-implemented process such that the one or morecomputer-executable program code portions which execute on the computerand/or other programmable apparatus provide operational steps toimplement the steps specified in the flowchart(s) and/or the functionsspecified in the block diagram block(s). Alternatively,computer-implemented steps may be combined with, and/or replaced with,operator- and/or human-implemented steps in order to carry out anembodiment of the present invention.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other changes,combinations, omissions, modifications and substitutions, in addition tothose set forth in the above paragraphs, are possible. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that various adaptations, modifications, andcombinations of the just described embodiments can be configured withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it isto be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile apparatus for purchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuel station, the apparatus comprising: a memory; a processor; and a computing module stored in the memory, executable by the processor, and configured to: initiate a fuel purchase application on the apparatus; determine, using the apparatus, identification information associated with a fuel pump that will be used for fueling the vehicle; and transmit, from the apparatus, a purchase authorization request to an external server based on the identification information, wherein the external server determines at least one of a payment card, a payment amount, or a discount eligibility for the purchase authorization request, processes the purchase authorization request based on one or more authorization rules, and transmits an electronic receipt to the apparatus, wherein the external server sends an authorization prompt to the fuel station, wherein in response to receiving the authorization prompt, at least one of: an agent at the fuel station activates the fuel pump, or the fuel pump is automatically activated.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a display, and wherein the module is further configured to determine identification information based on the module being configured to: initiate, on the display, a user interface associated with the fuel purchase application; and enable selection, on the user interface, of a fuel pump associated with the fuel station.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the module is further configured to: determine a location of the apparatus based on at least one of positioning system information or location information associated with a social networking account; and determine at least one of the identification information associated with the fuel pump or information associated with the fuel station based on the location of the apparatus.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the module is further configured to: initiate, on the display, address information associated with the fuel station; and initiate, on the display, identification information associated with one or more fuel pumps associated with the fuel station.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the module is further configured to: enable selection, on the user interface, of the payment card to pay for the fuel purchase, wherein the apparatus accesses information associated with one or more payment cards.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is in communication with the apparatus, and wherein the vehicle communicates to the apparatus information regarding an amount of fuel needed to fill the vehicle's fuel tank to a predetermined capacity.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the purchase authorization request is further based on at least one of payment card information, social networking information, or a selected type of fuel.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the module is further configured to receive pre-configured information associated with an information-providing source comprising readable indicia, wherein the apparatus comprises an image-capturing component, and wherein the apparatus enables capture of an image of the readable indicia.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the readable indicia is presented on a display associated with at least one of the fuel station, the fuel pump, or the vehicle.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the readable indicia comprises a sticker attached to the fuel pump or the vehicle.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the readable indicia comprises a Quick Response (QR) code.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the information-providing source comprises a near-field communication (NFC) tag.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pre-configured information comprises information pre-approved by at least one of a merchant associated with the fuel station or a user of the apparatus.
 14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pre-configured information is pre-configured to be associated with the apparatus and not to be associated with another apparatus.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the module is further configured to receive an offer for at least one of a purchase of fuel, a purchase from a convenience store associated with the fuel station, or a purchase associated with the vehicle, wherein the offer is based on user information or account information associated with a user of the apparatus.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is integrated into the vehicle.
 17. A method for purchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuel station, the method comprising: initiating, using a mobile apparatus, a fuel purchase application; determining, using the mobile apparatus, identification information associated with a fuel pump that will be used for fueling the vehicle; and transmitting, using the mobile apparatus, a purchase authorization request to an external server based on the identification information, wherein the external server determines at least one of a payment card, a payment amount, or a discount eligibility for the purchase authorization request, processes the purchase authorization request based on one or more authorization rules, and transmits an electronic receipt to the apparatus, wherein the external server sends an authorization prompt to the fuel station, wherein in response to receiving the authorization prompt, at least one of: an agent at the fuel station activates the fuel pump, or the fuel pump is automatically activated.
 18. A computer program product associated with a mobile apparatus for purchasing fuel for a vehicle from a fuel station, the computer program product comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a set of codes for causing the mobile apparatus to: initiate a fuel purchase application; determine identification information associated with a fuel pump that will be used for fueling the vehicle; and transmit a purchase authorization request to an external server based on the identification information, wherein the external server determines at least one of a payment card, a payment amount, or a discount eligibility for the purchase authorization request, processes the purchase authorization request based on one or more authorization rules, and transmits an electronic receipt to the apparatus, wherein the external server sends an authorization prompt to the fuel station, wherein in response to receiving the authorization prompt, at least one of: an agent at the fuel station activates the fuel pump, or the fuel pump is automatically activated. 